Link's Apprentice
by Elothinnriel
Summary: Link finds that love can be a better weapon than a sword when a new war is upon the Hylians eight years after Ganon's defeat when the goddesses bring a mysterious woman to Hyrule to aid 18 year old Link....
1. Prologue

***I do hereby solemnly swear that I am nowhere near cool enough to own anything Nintendo or Legend of Zelda oriented. If I did, I'd be sunning myself on my personal beach/resort/mansion on Kauai drinking a Pina Colata with gorgeous guys fanning me and begging to perform my every, ahem, desire...I wouldn't be writing Fan Fiction in my home with a sweating Double Gulp of Diet Coke making my desk wet.***  
  
Well, I'm finally jumping over the hurtle of fear and posting some of my fan fiction. (Course, I wrote it as a freshman and I'm now going to be a senior in High School, so it might take a while for me to make an attempt at editing my overly ambitious writing as a 14 year old.. Bear with me!)  
  
This PROLOGUE really has no plot. It's just to set the story, time, and events leading up to it in place. Most Zelda stories have COMPLETELY different ideas of what happened after the defeat of Ganondorf, so this really just tells what MY story will be based around.  
  
~Flames, Wings, and Pawprints: You may not know it, but it's because of you all that I'm finally making a public fanfic attempt! Thanks guys, Marauders forever!  
  
(Everyone read stuff from the HP authors "Jedi Cosmos" and "AmericanAngel1")  
  
Link's Apprentice  
  
Prologue  
  
The weather was crisp, with a cool wind blowing from the direction of the castle. As Link stepped outside from his tree house he took a deep breath, breathing in the sweet fragrances of wood and spices from Kokiri Forest. Mornings like this always reminded him of who he had been, eight years ago. All his life Link had been made fun of, simply because of the fact that he didn't have a fairy. The children of the forest who never grew up, the Kokiri, each had their own. They served as guardians to them in time of need, as well as companions. Finally, when Link was 10, a fairy came to him, telling him that he must meet with the Great Deku Tree, guardian of the forest. Link laughed silently to himself. Ah yes. The summoning that changed my life. From that day, he would proceed to win Spiritual Stones, have his body and soul entombed in the Sacred Realm for seven years, awaken sages, and banish the single most evil fiend Hyrule had ever seen.all before the age of 17.  
When Zelda, the princess of Hyrule and his companion through the quest, had realized the mistakes she made in trying to control the realms, and that it was, after all, directly her fault that Link had lost seven years of his life, atoned by sending Link back to his original time, seven years in the past.  
But that was now eight years ago. Ever since that day he laid the Master Sword to rest, he felt different. In the body of an 18-year-old, he had changed. Physically, emotionally, and with all the hate and fear he had seen, matured faster then anyone had right to. Link had been stuck inside a child's body for eight years now, living the free life he had once lived. But after returning "home", no one remembered a thing he did; no one knew anything about Ganondorf, or what a boy from the forest had done to save Hyrule. Only himself, Zelda, the other six sages, Ganondorf (who was somewhere in the Evil Realm,) and his closest friend outside of the forest, a young ranch girl named Malon, about Link's age. The only thing he had to show for it was the symbol of the Triforce on the back of his left hand, one spot shaded to show the courage he possessed.  
Malon's horse, Epona, was once a prize Link had won during Ganondorf's reign when he beat the cruel, drunken ranch owner Ingo, who had kicked Malon's father off the ranch and constantly beat her. Once Link went back to his own time, Malon gave Epona to Link. It was her gift, she told him, to the hero who saved the land.and her as well.  
Link smiled to himself. While thinking about his past and his fights with Ganondorf did upset him and fill him with hatred to the Evil King, it also brought back some fond memories about friends he had made and the places he had seen. He climbed down the ladder and jumped the last few feet to the grass below. Another day with nothing to do, he thought to himself. That was the one nice thing about not being a hero, you have all the time in the world to do nothing but sulk meaninglessly around. After about a minute pondering over how he should occupy his time, he decided to catch the sunrise. Thy sky was a wonderful indigo tint, becoming lighter by the minute. If he raced, he'd be able to make it to the field before the vivid colors begun to appear.  
He ran to the stable, right near the entrance of the village. Finding Epona awake and greedily chewing the hay at her feet, Link leapt onto her back and sped out into Hyrule Field, passing the trees in his way until he reached the vast, open area in the center of Hyrule. There were only a few trees everywhere, so he sped up Epona, and let her run as fast as she wanted.  
Nothing he had encountered had ever felt as sensual as feeling the wind in his hair and on his face. The way it caressed him and blocked out all sound made his heart race. Link held onto Epona's neck, urging her to gallop faster as he lifted out his arms, closed his eyes and pretended to fly. As they reached the top of the short hill, Link leapt off onto the springy grass looking up at the heavenly rays of colors in the sky. That was when he saw her....  
  
* * * * *  
There, that's just setting the stage for the ACTUAL story. Chapter one is going to be posted shortly, after I make an attempt at editing my writing from freshman year.*cringe* PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! You'll go down in my "book of nice people" forever!!!  
  
Love, Elothinnriel 


	2. A Golden Sunrise

**Own squat. Nada. Cero. Zip. See top of PROLOGUE for further info.**  
  
Here we go, some ACTUAL bit of story for now. Warning: Extreme corniness. I'll blame it on my much younger and less-read self. (But wait, if that's true, why not use the delete button and fix it?!) Well, voice in my head.I guess it's still my baby. Albeit, my slightly strange baby, but still the sole reason that I ever began to write, and the start of my passion for English. It just wouldn't be right to change too much here, hehehe!!  
  
Thanks for the REVIEWS:  
  
Nananki: My first review! Sorry there was nothing there, but a review means a lot, all the same!!  
  
Ignorantly Grinning: Thanks for the advice. I didn't like the way the text looked either, so hopefully by double spacing it here in Microsoft Word it'll work..  
  
Link's Apprentice  
Chapter 1: A Golden Sunrise  
  
Cassandra yawned, sitting up on her bed and looking out the large window in her room. It was still dark, but the sun would be coming up soon. She quickly got dressed in a pair of sweats and an old softball jersey, slowly creeping down the stairs outside of her room, skipping the step that creaked. Walking out onto her porch, she sat down on the pollen- covered steps, watching the sky become brighter. For once, she couldn't hear cars honking and speeding past her street, didn't smell exhaust from the trucks. All she sensed around her was the sound of birds waking up, the shadows beginning to form, and the sun peaking over the horizon in a picturesque Bible illustration sort of way. She could almost pretend that the road, streetlights, and electrical wires weren't there.almost. Why she wanted to wake up at this time and watch the sunrise, she didn't quite know. Maybe it was because Cassandra wasn't a typical girl. She wouldn't spend her days trying to fit in with everyone else; she didn't make her personality match what she thought people would accept. She was her own person, in her own group, and her appearance helped her cause. Curly auburn hair that refused to lie still fell to her mid-back, with eyes that refused to stay the same color. It was hard to see her without a beaming smile on her face, but there was one thing that set her apart from even those she would be classified with. Cassandra curled into a ball, resting her chin on her knees, and she sighed. Yes, she was a dreamer. She would fill her days with seemingly wild ideas, fanatical dreams that she wished would come true. Truth be told, she didn't want to be where she was. She was sick of the world she lived in, the way it had been ruined. Yet looking at the beautiful sunrise, her mind settled on her perfect place: Hyrule. It was a place that would fit into most of her fantasies. The one world she longed to be in more then anywhere else. She knew people thought she was crazy, she heard it all the time. It was, after all, a place in a Nintendo game, but it wasn't her fault she had fallen in love with the Zelda series. There was something about them, something about the people and the world they lived in which hadn't been ruined. And she longed to be there more then anything. So maybe she really did know why she was out there. It was Hyrule. The sunrise, the way it touched the land and changed it was the closest she had ever felt to actually being in Hyrule. The sun was rising slightly higher in the sky. Staring at the huge oak tree in her front yard, she sighed sadly. Sometimes she felt so alone. Please Lord, she prayed, please help me. Let me know that I'm not crazy.that these dreams you've given me will come true. She closed her eyes, and a cold wind began to play with her curls. But when she opened her eyes again, there was a blue flash of light, and the world around her became a twisted mess.  
She didn't know where she was.up became down, nothing around her made sense, and she felt herself slipping, being torn apart, ripped, and yet...she wasn't. Everything was blue; a vast dark color like the night sky before the eternal darkness sets in. Gradually though it began to turn a forest green, until fading and becoming soft orange and pink colors. Yet the world was still turning, tossing her around like a rag doll. Then the colors continued to fad, every shade becoming softer as if the warm tints were attempting to overcome the bold power of the dark. The spinning slowed down, and she was no longer being pulled. Everything was at ease once more.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Link sighed as he lay casually on the grass watching the clouds. Rapidly, the weather began to change and more clouds rolled in, beginning to turn the sky gray with the threat of a storm. Link headed over to Epona, and was getting her ready to go back home. Standing by his horse, he was suddenly thrown back onto the ground by a sudden burst of wind, a bight flash of light blinding him.  
After he gathered up his senses, he slowly crept up to Epona again, staying hidden by her mass. Only about 30 feet away was a girl, someone he had never seen before. His breath stopped for a moment, as he watched her. She was so unlike anyone he had ever seen, and not a Hylian like himself. But not in a bad way, one that sparked Link's curiosity to find out who this mysterious person was.  
She was wearing the strangest clothes he had ever seen. She had on a pair of green pants that hung loose on her legs. The material, for one thing, looked incredibly comfortable, and seemed more fit for traveling than the breeches and hose he was accustomed to.  
She was also in large dark blue shirt, with the number 11 on her back. Her hair was auburn, which lay mostly frizzy and curly a little past her shoulders, looking as if she had just gotten up. Yet the biggest difference he realized was her ears. They're so much smaller than the ones I've seen.and not even pointed! No one had ever seen the likes of it before in Hyrule; the Hylians had long pointed ears. The only race that could possibly come close to what he saw were the Gerudo women, and to say he was a little surprised was a huge understatement. But she lacked the distinctive features of the Gerudo, and the thought of her being one quickly vanished from his mind as he watched her move. Gerudo were graceful and silent; she was more relaxed and clumsy.  
She was walking around the field slowly and appeared to be in a state of shock. Link was almost the same, wondering where this odd, strangely dressed person could have come from....  
He was disturbed from his thoughts when Epona neighed, startling him and the strange girl. When he saw her after looking up, she was walking over to him. Link remained hidden, and to his relief she hadn't seen him behind his horse as she began petting Epona. He could tell for sure now he was going to die of curiosity if a conclusion wasn't met, so he summoned up his voice, preparing to find out who this woman was.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Once everything had stopped, Cassandra collapsed onto the ground, numb and scared to death. She slowly sat up, opening her eyes, preparing to sit back on her porch. Only there was no porch, no house.... Cassandra's eyes were wide open now, and she looked around her with more joy and happiness then fear.  
She recognized the place well and knew what was around her, even if she didn't believe it. She slowly stood up, her heart racing. She looked in every direction, moving in a circle. To the left she could see a castle in the distance, with a thick wall around it, drawbridge down. Behind her there was a stone wall that encompassed a few shabby buildings with a red banner above the entrance. She was afraid to close her eyes, for she didn't believe what had happened. "I'm in Hyrule!" she whispered to herself. "Me! Here, in Hyrule!... But.why?" She didn't believe it; she couldn't believe it as much as she wanted to. The Lord had more than answered her prayer, and this was what she had always wanted, asked for, prayed for every night and day...but here she was! Although the general fact would boggle the mind of any scientist, she was proof.  
She knelt down the ground, running her fingers through the grass. It's real, she thought.... It's all real.... A small tear escaped as she prayed, giving her thanks, her heart leaping with joy. She lifted her head up once again to the sky, breathing in the sweet sent of this new, glorious place.  
A horse neighed behind her, and Cassandra quickly turned her head in fear to see what it was. Cassandra stood up; if something dangerous was near, she wasn't going to be caught unawares. Slowly she walked over to the horse she saw standing in the middle of the field. She walked slowly, shoulders squared, hands in front trying to show she that she meant no harm. The horse calmed and Cassandra walked over to her. She patted her head, and hugged her neck. This horse.... I know this horse! "Epona!" she said, hugging her again, recognizing Link's horse from the game. "Well girl, you're the first being I've met here that I know, what are you doing in the middle of Hyrule Field?"  
"Who...who are you?" a beautiful, deep, questioning voice asked from the other side of Epona. Cassandra jumped, startled. She had never heard the voice before, yet she felt like she knew it.... Looking around and seeing no one, she walked forward. They met in front of the horse, both walking out from their sides. She gasped. There he was...Link!  
It's him! The Hero of Time! She thought excitedly to herself, heart beating faster then it ever had before. After so much wishing, hoping, dreaming, praying, here he is, and he's real!  
He repeated again, "M'lady, do you have a name? I promise I won't harm you, unless you mean to harm me."  
"Oh, uh, sorry, my name's Cassandra." Cassandra, you dummy! she thought. Couldn't you have found anything better, more polite to say to Link?! "There now, wasn't so hard, now was it? At least it's better then Link." She smiled at this, as he took a small bow. He even has a sense of humor! And he's so polite.  
"Link.... Oh, Link! I can't believe it's you!" she gasped, reality finally setting in. "The one and only savior of Hyrule, the Hero of Time, the one with the Triforce of Courage! You who gave up your childhood to protect a country that had done nothing for you, killed your parents when you where just a baby! You have no idea.... No idea how long, how much I've wanted to meet you...." She trailed off at the end, a lump rising in her throat.  
Link looked at her in puzzlement, and with a hint of pride, proud of how excited she had been to see him and the way she described what he had done. Who is she? He wondered to himself. How could this girl, Cassandra, have any idea who I am? Only the sages, and a few others know my...my true past...and I know them all. This girl...something is different about her... "How...how do you know? No one knows about what happened eight years ago, except those who were an important part of bringing down Ganondorf's power...."  
"Eight years ago?!" Cassandra exclaimed. "Holy cow, I can't believe it's been so long. So Zelda really did send you back. Have you been living in the forest all this time, or at the castle?"  
"The forest, of course. The only ones at the castle who know what I've done are Zelda and Impa. To everyone else, I'm a parent-less boy from the forest."  
"Oh, I'm sorry Link, that must be hard, after what you've gone through."  
"Yes, when I think about how many times I almost got myself killed it is hard. But I just look around me, see all the happy people who were so fearful, so hardened for those years of Ganondorf's reign, and I feel better. They have their life back, and so do I."  
"You know what, I never thought of it like that. I was too into the glory part, I guess!" She laughed at herself.  
"You still haven't answered my question though, Cassandra. How did you know?" He stared deep into her eyes, trying to find any answer. She sighed.  
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She looked down and crossed her arms as the wind blew, becoming colder instead of warmer with the sun ascending upon its throne in the sky.  
"Goodness, you must be freezing, and from the looks of it the day will be getting colder before it gets any warmer. Please, come with me back to my house. It's not very big, designed for a kid, but it's warm and cozy." She ginned.  
"That sounds wonderful, thanks Link." He walked over to the saddle and grabbed a spare blanket from the saddlebag. Helping her onto Epona, he wrapped the blankets around her shoulders and placed himself up right in front of her.  
"Hopefully I'll block some of the cold wind from hitting you, hold on tight, the sky's loosing its color, and it's going to rain."  
"Yeah, I agree."  
"HYIA!" Link yelled, Epona hoofing the air, and running towards the forest. Cassandra had to grab Link's waist to keep herself from flying off the back of the horse. The trees and grass flew by, and the cold wind blew her hair out of her way.  
Link's hair blew into her face, and she smiled to herself. He wasn't the rough, sharp image as he appeared on the Nintendo screen. He was real, she was holding onto him at that moment, his hair, the smell of someone that had been everywhere, done everything, blowing into her face. She slowly laid her head on his back, taking in all the reality, and Link smiled to himself, pondering over the strange girl who seamed to know him so well.  
Making their way to the forest, Cassandra thought about her home. She had no idea what her family would be thinking, or how worried they would be. Luckily she was on summer vacation, if time passed the same here and on Earth, she wouldn't have tons of schoolwork to make up. But her friends also would be worried; she was going to have a few of them over next weekend! Well, maybe her close friends might have some kind of idea, those friends of hers who didn't doubt or make fun of her dream to one day be in Hyrule. But mostly, she though about people she normally tried to forget. The people who enjoyed coming to her every day making fun of her obsession with Link, and the Zelda games. The people who called her weird, strange, crazy, the list would continue. "He's not real!" They would say. "It's just a game, it doesn't really exist!" "Cassandra, get a life!" The tormenting.... If they could just see me now...They'd be sticking their foot in their mouth; I can just see it! They're all standing there as I ride past them on the back of Epona, holding onto Link in the land of Hyrule. She couldn't help but smile.  
They reached the entrance of the forest and Link helped Cassandra off Epona. They walked her into the stable, and quickly headed off to Link's house. The sky was becoming much grayer, almost impossible to believe after how clear and beautiful the morning's sunrise was. Right before they reached the ladder up the tree, the rain began to poor, having a moment to drench them before they reached cover.  
All the Kokiri were in their homes, and had no time to ponder over who this person was with Link. All the better, perhaps, so they wouldn't have to be bothered. Link still wanted to find out how she knew all that she did about his past.  
They ducked under the post of the door and brushed off their wet blankets, storing them near a wall of the house. Cassandra closed the heavy white drape of a door, and Link grabbed a flint stone to light a fire. The house smelled of smoked meet and wood, and was very warm considering the cold that had taken over the land so quickly. "There we go, that ought to stay burning for a while now." Link said, sitting up from a small spot on the floor under a hole high on the roof, covered higher up by another piece of wood.  
"You house is so adorable!" Cassandra said smiling.  
"Well, I don't know about 'adorable,' but it keeps the water out, me in, and a place to sleep." Link sighed. "Too bad it isn't any bigger though."  
"What? Living in a Kokiri size house just isn't big enough, huh? They seam to get along fine with it," Cassandra teased sarcastically.  
"Hey, they don't actually have to duck under their door! That would help some!"  
"Heh, yes, I agree with you there, we'll just have to build you a new one then, won't we?" Link stopped. Here they were carrying on like good friends, and had met no more then half an hour ago. Again, he though about his curiosity, and where this girl, Cassandra, had come from, how she appeared by wind and light, it seamed.  
Cassandra noticed a change in Link's behavior. "Link? Hey, something wrong?" She asked with concern upon his grave expression. He looked over to her.  
"Cassandra, please, tell me how you came here." He looked deep into her eyes again, just like before with question. She sighed, there was no reason to hide it, or any way to either.  
"Do you promise not to think I'm crazy, or not believe me?"  
"Of course. Believe me, I've seen many odd things in my life, what you have to say can't be any more odd."  
"Don't say that until I finish, you many have a second opinion." She sighed. "Well, here it goes.... Link, I'm from a different world, where you are known as just a cartoon...."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"...And that's the whole story." Cassandra concluded. She had finally been able to complete explaining how she came to be here. Not that it was very easy, with Link asking what a cartoon, television, or Nintendo game was. She sat back on her wood stump. The fire was almost out, and she pulled one of the now dried blankets away from their rack in front of the fire and wrapped it around her shoulder, waiting for Link's reply.  
Link, however, sat there, deep in thought. Cassandra was worried, fearful he wouldn't believe her, and would tell her to go, leave him alone. But he wasn't thinking anything like that. No wonder! It's all coming together now. This is so fascinating, a girl from a different dimension entirely. And she's sitting right here with me! A sweet stranger from, what was it called? Earth? Yes, a sweet stranger from Earth, so easy to get along with...and she's here! "Oh, Cassandra, that's so amazing! No, I don't doubt you, trust me on that. You world, it sounds fascinating!"  
Cassandra gave a sigh of relief. Thank you Lord, she thought, thank you for letting the one person that matters the most understand me here. "I'm so happy you believe me, oh, Link, I can't even begin to tell you how happy!"  
"You must tell me more about Earth, I want to learn more about this strange place you're from, life there sounds wonderful!"  
"Believe me, it's not all it's cut out to be...."  
"How so?"  
"I'll explain some other time.... Well, sure, I'll tell you about where I'm from now, but on one condition."  
"Yes?"  
She smiled. "You'll have to take me around Hyrule some more!"  
"That's it?! You have a deal!" They laughed at themselves, and for no particular reason. They felt like they had been great friends all their lives, not strangers. And the feeling was mutual. They spent the rest of the rainy day inside, talking about really nothing at all. But the rain didn't affect any of the feelings inside of the room, as far as they knew they were in their own little world, the sun beaming down upon them.  
It wasn't until much later that they realized how dark it had gotten, and the rain stopped with just enough time to see the moon was out, before it started poring again. They had been talking inside all day. "Well, we better get to sleep. Hopefully the rain will QUIET DOWN SOME!" Link yelled the last part up at the sky, causing probably the hundredth round of laughter that day.  
They rolled out a few spare horse blankets on the floor (even Link couldn't sleep in the bed anymore, because of its small size.) With blankets for the mats, blankets for the pillows, and blankets to cover them up, they were able to make some decent looking sleeping bags.  
Both of them sat there for a while, thinking, about the strange course of the day's events. Cassandra still not believing how lucky she was to actually be here in Hyrule, and have become such fast friends with Link. Link couldn't believe that Cassandra was actually from a different world, and how the place she was from differed so much from Hyrule. He also couldn't believe how fast they became friends. Then another though hit his mind. "Hey Cassandra?" He asked quietly.  
"Yeah?" She replied, rolling onto her other side to face him.  
"I've been thinking. Normally when something like this occurs, something big happens afterwards. Like when Ganondorf came, Hyrule went into chaos."  
"Are you saying you think I'm connected to Ganondorf?" she asked sitting up, sounding hurt. "Because believe me, if it's about the hair and the ears thing, I've heard it all before, I'm NOT a freaking GERUDO!" "No, no! When I first saw you, I knew that it was never a possibility. Let me change my example. When the Goddesses game, Hyrule was created and everything we know was born. What I'm saying is maybe you're here for a reason. Whether it be to defeat something like Ganondorf, or to help some people in time of need. I just think there may be something happening, something big that will require you being here." She thought about it, and the more she did, the more it made sense.  
"You know what, I think your right, although I don't see how the heck someone like me would be heroic enough to do anything you're suggesting. Hopefully it won't be something like Ganondorf coming back from the Evil Realm, but either way, we better keep an eye out, just to be sure."  
"Mmm hmm, I agree. We'll watch our backs for now." Long pause. "Hey, what should we do tomorrow? It's been so boring around here, and I finally have someone else I can adventure with!"  
"Ha, yeah, I know the feeling all too well. Well, I'm apt to do anything the Hero of Time is." They thought for a moment in silence.  
"Hey! Let's go visit Zelda! She's the head of the sages, so I know she'll want to know about you, and maybe we could also get some answers."  
"Oh, that would kick butt!"  
"What? Who'd kick whose butt?"  
"Oh, sorry. It means like that would be really cool!"  
"Oh...OH! OK, I get it! All right, we'll wake up early and get ready. This will 'kick butt!'" They laughed so hard they were sure they had awakened the entire village, and their sides hurt, until they finally calmed down again.  
"Hey Link, one more thing. After we go to the palace, can we go see Malon at the ranch? I really want to meet her!"  
"Sure thing! I would be a good idea anyway; I haven't visited much recently. Epona would like it too."  
They worked out all the details, and were ready for tomorrow. Sleep had finally begun to take them over, and they eventually gave in to it on the floor, next to the now cold ashes of the fire. It was there that they slept until the glowing of the sun came into the house in the morning, and they were awakened by the distant crowing of a cucco echoing off Death Mountain from somewhere near Kakariko Village.  
  
Well, there's chapter one. I didn't like it then, don't really love it now, but it gets me started anyhow. It's going to get better believe me, and hopefully I can edit it to be less corny.oy, I was (ahem, AM) such a dork. oh well. Again, sorry for the corniness of it all!  
  
Love, Elothinnriel 


End file.
